Indiana

Indiana means “land of the Indians.” It joined the Union in 1816 as the 19th state. Today, Indiana is a state of mostly small towns and midsize cities. Its largest city and capital is Indianapolis, where the nation’s most famous auto race, the Indianapolis 500, is held each year. The state’s residents are commonly referred to as “Hoosiers” although no one seems certain just how the name originated. The peony is the state flower.

Human trafficking is a serious issue that affects people all around the world, including in Indiana. It is a form of modern slavery in which individuals are exploited for labor, sexual exploitation, or other purposes.

In Indiana, human trafficking can take many forms, including forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. It often affects vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, children, and people who are homeless or in poverty.

Indiana has taken steps to address the issue of human trafficking, including passing legislation to strengthen penalties for traffickers and to provide support and services to victims. The state also has a task force dedicated to addressing human trafficking, which works to raise awareness and coordinate efforts to prevent and combat the issue.

If you suspect that someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, there are steps you can take to help. You can report the situation to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by text at 233733. You can also contact local law enforcement or a trusted organization that provides services to victims of human trafficking. It is important to remember that the safety of the victim should be the top priority and to handle the situation with care and sensitivity.

 

 

Truck Driver Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor Victim and Producing Videos of the Abuse
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Truck Driver Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor Victim and Producing Videos of the Abuse

PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Hammond, Indiana, has been sentenced in federal court to 444 months in prison followed by lifetime supervision on his conviction of sex trafficking a minor and production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today. United States District Judge…

Truck Driver Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor Victim
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Truck Driver Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor Victim

PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Hammond, Indiana, has been sentenced in federal court to 444 months in prison followed by lifetime supervision on his conviction of sex trafficking a minor and production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today. United States District Judge…

Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen faces underlying felonies – TDPel Media
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Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen faces underlying felonies – TDPel Media

Editor’s note: this case doesn’t have to do with trafficking. Or does it? An interesting release under an Indiana statute brought this potential situation to our attention. Richard Allen’s initial bail was set at $20 million after he was arrested for the 2017 deaths of two teenage girls in Delphi. Allen, 50, was detained last…

Three Defendants Sentenced in Multi-State Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Forced Labor of Mexican Agricultural H-2A Workers
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Three Defendants Sentenced in Multi-State Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Forced Labor of Mexican Agricultural H-2A Workers

Three defendants were sentenced today for their roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized over a dozen Mexican H-2A workers who had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products between 2015 and 2017. U.S. District Court Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell for the Middle District of Florida sentenced Christina Gamez,…

United States Attorney Announces Results Of Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking
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United States Attorney Announces Results Of Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved to date by the Middle District of Florida to combat human trafficking. This includes trafficking of minors, forced labor, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. During fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of…

Salt and light on human trafficking | Opinion | hpj.com
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Salt and light on human trafficking | Opinion | hpj.com

Editor’s note: PBJ Learning is non-denominational. Human trafficking is a serious problem but certainly one that is easy to not spend any time on unless you have personally been affected. At a recent conference Dr. Katherine Welch from Indiana had just returned from 20 years in Thailand and she shared what she witnessed regarding trafficking…

From satanic panic to billion-dollar business: how Dungeons & Dragons conquered the world
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From satanic panic to billion-dollar business: how Dungeons & Dragons conquered the world

A role-playing game born half a century ago in a Wisconsin basement has spawned an empire spanning film, TV and YouTube. How did it leave its mark on Stranger Things, ET and everyone from Stephen King to Elon Musk? by Stuart Jeffries  ‘We didn’t mean to unleash the greatest evil the world has ever known,”…

Alleged human trafficking hotspots back open in Indiana – ABC57
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Alleged human trafficking hotspots back open in Indiana – ABC57

Four suspected hot spots for prostitution and human trafficking in St. Joseph County are back open, and investigators still have not filed any criminal charges. As ABC57 reported in June, the St. Joseph County Police raided four massage parlors and a home belonging to the owner and operator, James Belkiewitz, following a year-and-a-half-long investigation. Authorities say…

Owner Of Farm Labor Contracting Company Pleads Guilty In Racketeering Conspiracy Involving The Forced Labor Of Mexican Workers
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Owner Of Farm Labor Contracting Company Pleads Guilty In Racketeering Conspiracy Involving The Forced Labor Of Mexican Workers

WASHINGTON —Bladimir Moreno, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa, Florida, to charges of conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and conspiracy to commit forced labor. A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida had previously returned a six-count indictment against multiple defendants for their roles in a…

What’s at stake in the 2022 midterm election? Here’s everything to watch before Election Day.
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What’s at stake in the 2022 midterm election? Here’s everything to watch before Election Day.

Midterm elections: How they work and why they’re important This year’s midterms are the first chance for Americans to grade Joe Biden and congressional Democrats on how they’ve been running the country for the past two years. Typically midterms don’t go well for the party in power, and Democrats are defending razor-thin majorities in Congress, as one-third of…